barn

One Sunday morning at the end of October I took the girls to the newly opened Horseshoe Farm Nature Preserve. The park is located at 2900 Horse Shoe Farm Rd in Northeast Raleigh and contains about 146 acres of property on an oxbow of the Neuse River. The city purchased the property in 1994 as a future park site, and it is now being developed in multiple stages. According to the city’s website, Phase I development included improvements to the entrance drive and dam, parking, signage, soft surface walking trails, connection to Neuse River Greenway, picnic shelter and restroom facility. Future phases include developing an educational center, playground, amphitheater, and canoe launch while promoting sustainability and enhancing the land’s natural characteristics. We’ve been keeping an eye on this park ever since we explored the nearby Neuse River Trail so it’s nice to connect to a nature preserve along the greenway!

After parking in the main parking lot, we headed toward the large pavilion and then to the large open space to run and kick the ball around. Down from the large pavilion is an old red farm house and white picket fence leading to a rustic barn, all perfect for an outdoor photo op (which we witnessed while there). In looking at future phases, the farm house looks to be used for the education/art center.

Hoping to take advantage of energetic little ones we kicked the ball across the field to the other side of the tree line in hopes of finding the nature trail. Luckily I looked at the park’s website before coming out to the park to know a 0.5 mile natural walking trail runs along the tree line in a horseshoe shape. There were no signs within the park indicating such trail exists, but that’s probably because of the park’s infancy. So we headed to the tree line where you can barely make out the river through the woods and started our short walk. The girls really got into collecting berries and learning about plants in nature this fall so they really enjoyed this walk. Along our way we saw lots of berries, colorful leaves, tall and fuzzy grasslands, pine cones, moss, and sticks. The main parking lot and large open fields aren’t visible from a few sections of the path, but for the most part you can see the whole park from anywhere. The path horseshoed around toward the old farm house and barn where we saw a one year old’s cake smashing photo session going on, which was a lot of fun! The photo op motivated me take a few pics of the girls under the beautiful maple trees, which were just starting to show their color. I had to bribe them with the promise of chocolate once we got home!

After our walk we rested under the pavilion with snacks and water and then used the compost restroom facilities before heading home. I look forward to coming back to this park over the years to see new developments and to hopefully better time the changing of the colors of the leaves. Check out their list of upcoming park programs including a New Year’s Day 2016 Hike!

About a month ago we visited Historic Oak View County Park for an Easter Egg Hunt with our Stroller Strides friends. Lucky for the group, the weather held off until after our event and we had a great morning of eating breakfast treats, hunting eggs, feeding goats, and running around like maniacs. Renting the Bluebird Shelter was a great idea and such a great spot for nearby egg hunting and visiting with the goats.

After the egg hunt, we quickly explored some of the areas that we hadn’t seen much of during our last visit: the large barn, Carya shelter, restoration of the Tenant House, the pecan grove, and the Farm History Center. The barn has several interactive exhibits for little ones to learn about farm animals and is the home to the Nubian goats. The Carya shelter has four picnic tables and a nearby charcoal grill. The Tenant House restoration project began in September 2012 to help tell the history of tenancy and its role in North Carolina’s agricultural past. The pecan grove was planted in the early 1900s to diversify the crops on the farm and even though it has suffered major damage over the years due to weather it is a beautiful site. The Farm History Center is a non-historic building at the park that has several NC agricultural exhibits, restrooms, a place to rest, and the super interactive Farmer’s Corner for kids.

Oak View County Park also has a temporary exhibit, “Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War” that will be on display until May 26 that I hope to check out. To see our previous post about Oak View County Park, visit here. For more information about programs and visiting Oak View County Park, visit the Wake County website.

Historic Oak View County Park is a must-see park for people of all ages located at 4028 Carya Drive in east Raleigh. I had first visited this park several years ago when I volunteered with the Raleigh Jaycees and Wake County Animal Shelter during their Annual Mutt Strutt and was so surprised at how large and unassuming it was given that it’s right in a business park.

As you pull into the park you pass a small pond, large open fields, and shelters to the left and limited parking on the right. There’s a walking path that snakes through the open fields.

Keep straight on the road to get to the main attractions of the park – Visitor’s Center, Cotton Gin Museum, and Main House. First, check in at the Visitor’s Center and get a walking map of the area. Inside the Visitor’s Center, you’ll find some agricultural exhibits to visit and a ton of educational activities for children to do. It also seems like the center has children’s programs available during the week, so call them to learn more. Begin your journey by heading out the back doors through the patio.

Benches outside the Visitor's Center

Our first stop along the paved walk was to the cotton fields and the Cotton Gin Museum.

Signs directing you to the different attractions

Plaque with information about the Cotton Gin House

Cotton fields that are available for groups to help with throughout the year

Plaque explaining the seasonal work for producing cotton

Wagons outside the Cotton Gin House

The Cotton Gin House showcases historical and educational information about producing cotton

Just past the Cotton Gin House is the Williams family cemetery.

The Williams family cemetery

Head stone marking the Williams family

Next, we visited the gorgeous Main House, which is an 1855 Greek Revival home. During our visit the temporary exhibit, “Morning to Night: Domestic Service in the Guilded Age South” was being showcased. The exhibit tells the story of the African-American work force in the south.

Entrance to the Main House

Front side of the Main House

Another view of the Greek Revival Main House

Inside the Main House

Just outside the Main House is the Cedar Plank Kitchen, which was unusual for this part of the country because of the costs of cedar. The kitchen was built separately from the main structure in the event a fire broke out it would not destroy the entire home.

Back side of the kitchen

Plaque of the Cedar Plank Kitchen

Another site to see on your trip through the park is the Herb Garden, which has everything from basil to horseradish!

Other buildings to explore on your visit include the Barn, Carriage House/Tenant House